Josyard is Real
by Bookdancer
Summary: Neil kisses Andrew on the Court moments after winning Olympic Gold. The internet has a lot to say about it. Andreil Week 2019


_A/N:_

_this was written for the 2019 andreil week, day 8: prompt from #AndreilWeek2018: stadium lights_

_also thanks to queenofmoons67 (tumblr handle) for beta-ing_

_i do not own the foxhole court, and i've also cross-posted this fic to ao3 (Bookdancer) and tumblr ( bookdancerfics)_

_i love writing fictional social media things, and i love andreil, so of course for the last day of the week i had to combine them. i hope you all enjoy the result!_

_also this website decided to delete all my at symbols so i replaced them all with *, i sincerely apologize. if you want a better reading/viewing experience, ao3's version looks a lot better_

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#Josyard is Real

NBC Olympic Channel

_[The Olympic Exy Court is glistening, even after all of the games that were played on it that week. The Japanese team, in red and white, has gone toe to toe with the American team, in blue and white. It's the final game of the Olympic exy season, and the score is tied 4-4. The starters of both teams have all had breaks throughout the game, but with only 30 seconds left on the clock, all twelve original starters are back on the court._

_Akaashi Haruno, Japan's striker wearing #17, deftly evades American backliner Jean Moreau, who wears #9. She sprints up the court, eyes on the goal and American goalie Andrew Minyard, who bears #3 in what most fans assume to be a callback to his PSU days._

_Another form, in blue with #10 on their back, suddenly barrels into the frame and checks Akaashi's racket with their own. The ball pops from Akaashi's net pocket and American #10, striker Neil Josten, snatches it up with his own racket in midair._

_Josten doesn't even bother turning, instead just flicking his racket so that the ball flies out in the opposite direction. Kevin Day, fellow American striker and #11, catches the ball and turns in one fluid motion. He throws the ball past Japanese backliner #4, Kirishima Kousei, and Josten is somehow already there, showing off the speed he's known for._

_The other Japanese backliner, Narumiya Shinji, #31, attempts to check Josten, but Josten evades him just as easily as Akaashi evaded Moreau seconds before._

_Someone screams for Josten to throw it, and the clock ticks down from seven seconds, six seconds, five seconds._

_Something blurs past Japanese goalie Okumura Satoko, #6, and the goal lights up red. In the stunned silence that follows, the camera focuses on Josten, who stands with his racket still pushed forward._

_The clock beeps, and the score changes to 5-4, America's favor._

_Okumura collapses to her knees. Day raises his fists in the air. And Josten rushes across the court to greet Minyard.]_

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St. Petersburg Suns * official_st_petersburg_suns

Congrats to *neiljos10 and *a-minyard for their Olympic win!

[image description: Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard, wearing their USA uniforms, celebrate the win against Japan in the Olympic finals. Minyard carries Josten, with Josten's legs wrapped around Minyard's waist and his arms raised to the ceiling. Minyard's expression is blank and Josten is mid-shout. The final score, 5-4 USA, is shown slightly out of focus on the scoreboard behind them. end ID]

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*minyard-is-goals : when you're neil josten you get to score twice in ten seconds #usa exy lb

| *dayqueen replied: ?

| *minyard-is-goals replied: holy shit *dayqueen did you actually miss it

| *dayqueen replied: miss wHAT

| *minyard-is-goals: for anyone (*dayqueen) who somehow missed the coming out of the century, NEIL JOSTEN KISSED ANDREW MINYARD. AND ANDREW MINYARD KISSED BACK

| *dayqueen replied: I'M SORRY I MISSED _WHAT_

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*suns_ofmylife: So for anyone who ever tried to tell me that the Josten-Minyard rivalry was real and they still secretly hated each other despite playing for the same team for a full season now: Is a fuck you too kind? #USA exy lb #Josyard is real

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*exyllent: i'm warning y'all now, anyone comes into my ask box spouting homophobic shit and you're getting blocked ten ways to sunday

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OLYMPIC EXY STARS JOSTEN AND MINYARD COME OUT SECONDS AFTER WINNING GOLD

by Terry Robles

This is hardly the first time Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard have made headlines inside or outside of exy, and it will doubtlessly _not_ be the last time, but it's still refreshing to see them be so positive for once. For anyone new to the exy scene, there's a plethora of other articles to get you caught up on all that. Fair warning, they cover everything from the time Minyard broke his nose in a court fight, to Josten's mob past, to any amount of rumors regarding either of them, to the infamous Josten-Minyard rivalry that spanned a good two years of pro league exy.

As evidenced by last night, though, anyone doubting that their rivalry ever ended can go home rest-assured that it _definitely _has. As soon as the final buzzer sounded in the Olympic exy finals, with the USA's goal still lit up red, Josten dashed across the court and leapt into Minyard's arms. While a slight surprise — Minyard isn't well known for being physically affectionate — fans took it in stride and chalked Minyard's good reaction up to his new Olympic Gold.

In the next seconds, though, anything we fans thought we knew went entirely out the window when Josten and Minyard exchanged a kiss. There have been athletes in the past with dubious coming out kisses — Nikiforov and Katsuki's is particularly memorable — but this one was decidedly… not. The stadium lights, still bright from the game, considerably lightened the scene, and there were no strangely placed arms to hide anything. Lips met lips. There's no debate to be had. Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard kissed. They're officially as far out of the closet as any celebrity can ever hope to be.

They confirmed things later that night at a press conference, when one reporter questioned whether the kiss had actually happened, and Josten responded with "duh."

Short and succinct, it's nothing like the long-winded roasts that fans have come to expect from him, but it got the job done.

Neither athlete expanded on their sexuality, although Josten did deny being gay.

Their coming out has raised a few questions, though:

It's well known that their team, the St. Petersburg Suns, became the first professional exy team to host a Pride Night just two seasons ago. Although several other teams followed suit a season later, it still makes people wonder if Josten and/or Minyard had anything to do with their own team's efforts.

It also makes people wonder if this is just the start. Josten and Minyard aren't just the first professional exy players to come out, they're some of the only male athletes in team sports to come out while still competing as pros. Will others follow? What does this mean for sports like exy, hockey, baseball, or football?

Comments:

exyisgay: i can't describe how much this means to me

| commenter: I know what you mean, I'm still in shock. I just can't believe it was broadcast on live tv

balti_more_bluecrabs: Wow. I'm not gay, and I'm not a fan of the Suns, but I have to commend both athletes for being this brave. Wishing them the best.

[comment has been removed for violating site conditions]

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*neiljosten: in light of recent events, forget dayyard for a second and just _think_: what if… josyard? #they interact a lot now that they're on the same team #the bromance is real #neil josten #andrew minyard

| *dayqueen: throwback to when *neiljosten was possessed by an oracle and spoke the gosh-damn truth

| *neiljosten: holy shit, i forgot about that. how far back did you have to go in my blog for this?!

| *dayqueen replied: you don't wanna know

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*suns-ofmylife:

[image description: a set of 6 gifs, 2x3, all featuring andrew minyard and neil josten interacting. the top left gif is them shaking hands as neil welcomes andrew to the suns. the top right gif is them clacking rackets at the end of a game. the middle left gif shows them yelling across the court together, while the middle right is them sitting on the bench with their thighs touching. neither of them is talking. the bottom left gif shows andrew watching neil during a post-game conference, his amusement surprisingly obvious — neil is mid-roast. the bottom right gif is andrew catching neil after the last goal in the olympic finals and neil raising his fists in celebration. end id]

_when being teammates turns into something else (for *exyllent)_

Bonus: [image description: one last gif. andrew is holding neil while celebrating their olympic gold, and neil is kissing andrew. andrew is kissing back. end id]

#neil josten #andrew minyard #st. petersburg suns #olympics #josyard #exy gifset #my gifset #mine #1k

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_A/N:_

_i have a tumblr account, bookdancerfics, so please feel free to drop by. sometimes i post writing updates_

_and, finally, please comment here! i love hearing what people think_


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